


Against Monsters We Are Only Human

by FompFloat



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Look I know it seems grim but it'll be fine I promise, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-05-17 00:11:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14821551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FompFloat/pseuds/FompFloat
Summary: Starts before a huge fight with Reign (3x09)that leaves Kara in critical condition. The team uses some crazy stuff to get her back and the outcome and aftermath get pretty lucrative. They make crazy science shit, Kara gets a couple powers, Supercorp ANGST. Space family ANGST. Just a lot of it. But everyone gets what they deserve, three fingers of whiskey, sometimes just three fingers. We'll get to all of that in time but trust that this is def some slow burn.





	1. History Will Not Repeat Itself

**Author's Note:**

> I'm like sooooo over Supergirl plot holes and ooc dialogue are just a lot. Anyway, here is bunch of Space family feels because J'onn Jones cares so much about the Danvers sisters and Alex knows what's up. And Lena is a badass. And I just want to put some respect on their names because they are amazing characters.
> 
> All of this is written from my phone most of the time so all mistakes are mine as I usually written at like 3am when I can't sleep so, sorry! Enjoy the ride hope your all glutens for punishment. ;)

Kara had her duty, she had her world, her family that she worked so hard to protect. The girl of steel fought tooth and nail for her second chance when the stars decided to take everything from her. When she was forced to watch her planet's demise.

Not again, not this time.

But this was different. Before a fight there was a hum under her skin. A vibration within the girl of steel, before a big fight. It was close to excitement, close. This time however, it was closer to how she felt in the Phantom Zone. Uncertain of the outcome, confused at how she got to where she was, and at the summit of all these turbulent emotions. Fear.

“Alex.” Kara uttered under her breath, her throat feeling as though it was closing up, made her sound hoarse.

“No.” Alex stated peering over the vantage point overlooking the city right over the subway tunnel they were to enter. Reign seem to make its darkness seep out into the sidewalk.

“You don't even know what I'm going to say?” Kara chuckled humorlessly. As the squad got into formation to back up the hero when things were sure to stray according to plan.

“I know that face. You wear your emotions on it like a friggin’ billboard.” Alex replies, eyes trained on the entrance barely blinking.

“You know what needs to happen.” Kara adjusted her earpiece as it relayed the conversation to the com room. J’onn circling above them at a distance with a attache case in hand, waiting for Supergirl to give her signal.

“That is not an option.” Alex fixed her with a hard glare.

“I need to do what I swore when I took up my coat of arms.” Kara declared as she faced her sister.

“You didn't even have time to think about that, you had to much soot and plane debris to sort through.”

 

“Alex.” Kara pleaded in vain.

“No! Kara... Please.” The distress was palpable in her voice. Lena shifting uncomfortably, as she felt the conversation to private for an audience, but the mission had started, and it seemed that whatever the sisters had to say to each other to priority over privacy. No one else could look at the scene.

“Alex. This world, the family that chose me, the family that I've been made with every person I've known, the lives that depend on me. I have to do what I can. I’ve lost everything before because there was nothing I could do to stop it. Never again.” Kara stood resolute, even if her trembling hands were starting to betray her.

Never again.

“But Why Kara, why are you so determined to face this alone? You said it yourself. We are family. You must’ve hit your head to think we would send you in there alone.” The squared off against one another, Alex ready to knock some sense into her.

“I can't win against Reign Alex.” Kara smiled a painful smile. “I think a part of everyone here knows that.” Alex’s shock must have been easy to read. She subconsciously reach for Kara before letting her hand drift back down. wishing she could handle this herself but being powerless to do so. The furry burrowed into Alex’s skin. “She took down Kal. He is still comatose from when they fought.” Supergirl keeps herself from shuddering at the memory of Superman clinging to life. Weak, like she was during her first encounter with the Worldkiller.

“Then why are you so eager to join him dammit! I know full well you both will be beaten to a bloody pulp before the day is done, as a soldier. But I'm also your sister. I love you and you can't, you wont ask me to stay out of your way.” Alex’s eyes had a glassy sheen threatening to spill. That was for after the fight to come.

“Give me some credit, I got some plan.” 

“Well let's hear it. You've kept me in the dark and there us enough of that here”.

“The black kryptonite.” Kara sigh, wincing before she could hear Alex argue more.

“Well you have officially lost your damn mind.”

“No. You are out of yours, you are a human being. You are a living person from this planet which means your life means nothing to Reign no matter how much you care about Sam.” 

“I don't care! We are sisters, maybe not by blood. Maybe at first you didn't even want to be a Danvers, but regardless, you are. We are. Stronger Together. Kara this is Crazy!” Alex desperately argued. There wasn't a doubt in Alex’s mind that to leave her at the mercy of Reign was suicide.

“Look. I know this is crazy. Crazy is all we have, something that not even she would think we could resort to.” Kara clasped her sister’s shoulder, peering into her eyes recognizing the fear she was feeling herself.

“Just being within 10 feet of it damages your physiology Kara. How the hell do you plan on getting close enough let alone transport it to where you need to go IF we manage to locate her?” Alex looked above at J’onn as he circled again, her eyes catching the gleam of the case he was holding.

“I know. Rhao, Alex I know. Just think, please. I can't beat her the way I am know, and there isn't enough time. Right now, I can't just be Kara Danvers. I can't just be Kara Zor-El. I can't even be Supergirl. I have to be what holds the line between between our home, our world, and the end of everything. It why we are here.” She begged Alex to see reason. No matter how futile she knew it was, Alex was the only person more stubborn than Lena.

“I can't lose you. For once in your life Kara, you don't have to be the hero!” Aex cried, a tear slipping through the facade of the soldier.

“If I don’t do this, we lose Earth. I'm not trying to be a hero Alex. I feel like I'm reliving that moment when my mother sent me into space. I have the same feeling in me now that I did then. Maybe I am still just the girl, scared, floating through the darkness of space, wondering if I'd ever see the red sun. I am scared, not of her, but of what happens if I don't do this.” She brings Alex into a firm embrace, where even now and the edge of the world she can draw strength from her.

“We face her together, that's the plan.” Alex grasps at the hero's shoulders, unwilling to let go. Fearing that she'll lose her baby sister forever if she did.

“Unfortunately, I'm playing this by ear. I love you Alex, I'm sorry.” Kara swifty exploits the the point in Alex’s neck with a firm grip, rendering her unconscious. Gently laying her down on the roof. Brushing the hair out of her face, with as much love as she can. The mission was green lit.

 

 

Supergirl and J’onn were the first to enter. The Martian only a few feet behind. the subway had been abandoned after Reign’s rampage a few days ago left it unsafe for any use. Dark and humid and devoid of any light they pressed on.

“She won't be happy you did that.” J’onn came through the ear piece.

“I know.” Supergirl curtly replied.

“I'm not to pleased about it either. Or your plan.”

“I’m not over the moon but what choice do we have. Just hold on to it J’onn. We're almost there.”

“We would have gotten there already if it wasn't for this damned rock.”

 

 

The center look like an open chasm, an atrium. With Reign at the center waiting. Dark eyes scanning over Supergirl and she stopped several feet before her, the rain letting water flow freely amongst the pipes. The surface unaware of the threat below.

“Reign, this is a cliche supervillain lair for mole people.”

“I wanted to not be such an easy target for your humans and whoever else you rounded up to try stopping the inevitable.” Reign sneered. 

 

“It’s just us. I’d like to keep it that way since you are so carefree with your nasty habit of taking innocent lives”. Supergirl stated.

“ And who else have you brought with you. Afraid of dying alone, as you should have before. Nothing has changed and the result of this will be the same.”

“ As it so happens, I agree with you. Things will be the same if we go head to head like before, I thought I'd try my hand at gambling, and see if my garbage luck might turn around.” Kara chuckled. “J’onn, we have a delivery to make.”

“Confirmed Supergirl, I'm 200ft behind. Get ready.”

“ Alright, well th-” A vicious load of debris cut Kara off as it launched in her direction. “J’onn, I'm engaged with Reign, I'll hold out until you get here just hurry.”

\---DEO Communication Console---

Winn and Lena stood, staring at the chaos unfold. Within seconds the fight had begun, and Supergirl was already having to go on the offensive.

“Come on Supergirl, you have to hold on.” Winn prayed and clasped together in front of him as they all watched, seeing how the battle for the planet would unfold.

Lena stood frozen, watching as Sam- no Reign continued her unwavering assault against Supergirl. Pipes breaking, steam releasing, and a flurry of blows you could barely see.

“You know what is at stake, bring Sam back Supergirl. You have one life to save, save her and you'll save everyone.” Lena looked around her, the anxious hum of the room was stifling. James was across the room unable to bring himself to see what was going on. Other agent were preparing the medical facilities in the case that the have more wounded based on the reports last time the DEO had encountered Reign with Superman at the front. She too found herself walking away from the Videofeed. Wandering over to the Man of Steel himself when she followed the nurses. He laid still, much like a corpse Lena thought. And she couldn't help but picture Kara there. Tears began to flood her eyes.

“Why couldn't you have just listened to me Superman? You could have fought together if you had just waited for her to recuperate. Instead of making Kara face this alone you cocky son of a bitch. Against a monster like that, she’s only human.”

\---Subway NC East shuttle Station---

Reign was tenacious as she was relentless. She pulled off a pipe and swung it at Supergirl after tossing various pieces of debris. Kara manage to doge the rocks launched but collided with the swing of Reign’s feint attack. Kara’s body flew across the open space and into a row steamed pipes, that managed to burn a few pieces of flesh. She made her way out of it before Reign could continue beating her body into the piping and make the tunnel collapse. She flew directly at the Worldkiller, careful to avoid the falling rubble and prepared her laservision. It connected with a roar and staggered her opponent as she tackled Reign to the ground attempting to keep her from destroying anymore support beams. Supergirl then began her own onslaught pounding into the ground as Reign absorbed all of the punches with her torso. Though with each passing moment her punches grew shallow.

“ What’s wrong, aren't you a super? Seems like you haven't had enough sunlight, you're becoming sluggish.” Reign struggled to get up from where Kara had her pinned down. It took everything out of the hero to try and keep her from moving anymore. Though once Reign was able to free one of her arms the roles had shifted. Reign seemed to have found her second wind and punches found their purchase in Kara’s rib cage and face. Though also weaker than before. 

“ You feel it don't you Reign, my order has been shipped out and it's about to arrive by the feel of it.” At Kara’s words, Reign started to feel desperate, making her only focus to get out from under supergirl and destroy that martian along with whatever he brought with him. Kara struggled with a cry, each time Reigns fists racked her body. Hearing a crack or six she tightened her grip with a roar. Blood began to splatter amongst the rusted pipes and rubble with every connected blow. Warmth spread across her tough and her insides felt scrambled to a beating.

“We aren't going anywhere Reign. For better or worse this ends here.”

“Supergirl, 20 feet away.”

“Sir no offense but please. Move. Faster. I'm seeing honeycombs in here.”

“Noted. 12 feet away.”

“You will not confine me here!” Reign released a feral sound blasting her laser vision around the chasm, nearling severing Supergirls left leg and hitting her eye. The Black Kryptonite was working for all intents and purposes. Regin kept trying to fire of her laservision but later, steam was all that came. Kara’s leg was bleeding not too much since whatever damage was immediately cauterized by the beam. Her left eye was lost to her, and all from it she could see was darkness.

\---Deo---

“She might still be able to move, but that leg is in bad shape. Prepare the sun lamps in advance we need to be ready. The black kryptonite is an outlier so let's work with what we know.” Dr. Reiner directed the nursing staff. “We will have two injured supers in the building so Lt. Vega collaborate with the exterior security team to make sure no one gets any ideas. Alien or domestic.” The squad set up checkpoints within at the four entrances and exits to the building. Lena understood the precaution. Earth was down both of its defenders and threats to humanity were all but scarce. She got all of her documents together on her lab tests on the reactivity black kryptonite had on living organic tissue in humans and Aliens. The DEO had volunteers samples.

“ Dr. Reiner, Lena Luthor. I would like to ask you if any of your staff if familiar with the process of Kryptonite in how it limits and weakens kryptonians.” The doctor looked at Lena with a pointed glare. Giving directions to two other nurses before staggering over in Lenas direction. They looked as the sleep has abandoned them long before Kara was supergirl.

“ Luthor. I'm glad you blipped on my radar I have a job for you and our team that will be vital to our purpose here.”

 

\---Deep within the Atrium---

“This is what you came up with. You're nothing short of a feeble child with a bomb strapped on its chest.” Regin coughed as her eyelids started to weigh heavy. 

“It’s what we have to offer in order to deal with you.” Spat as blood found its way into her mouth once more. A pounding in her skull and an ach in her bones weighing down threatening to shatter. 

 

“And destroy you apparently.” Reign fought, raggled and bought herself a less submissive position.

“You can't make Sam hurt anyone anymore. She can see her daughter again.” Kara wheezed as the black kryptonite got closer.

“We will both perish if you do what I think you are about to do. If you wanted to die I could have obliged you. If you wanted darkness, I could have given you darkness.” With little strength left Kara couldn't keep Reign pinned down, and even as she crawled away from Kara the ruble above started to give, with little keeping it up. J’onn stepped closer to Kara, and the pain within multiplied with every step. 

“I can go. I don't want to but I can. Knowing that you won't be here, knowing that I haven't squandered my second chance. Most people only get one.” She smiled, knowing full well that the plan was working.

“ENOUGH. Your words fall on deaf ears I will not stray from the purpose from which I was conceived. That is the difference between you and I. I was born for this. You are merely trying to fix the mistakes you can't bare to live with. Easy to remedy since I plan on killing you.” Reign used the last bit of strength to channel everything she had into one final blow. If She couldn't carry the title of world killer wouldn't be hers, she could still destroy what was left of the last Super on earth. She screamed, fearsome, and terrible like the final death throes of an animal as she brought her fists down giving way to the rubble above as it steadily began to collapse.

“You have no reason Reign. And somewhere deep down, after this is all over. I might learn how to feel sorry for you.” She declared as she grabbed the case from J’onn throwing him above to the surface before he had time to process what Kara intended to do. She opened the case to reveal a shard of black kryptonite. As the bare metal touched her flesh she released an agonising scream as a hiss and burning tore through her hand. Charging through the rubble and leaving a trail of her own blood she embedded the shard in her spine. With Sam before her. Samantha Arias would be the last person Kara Zor-El would ever save. 

“THIS PLANET'S DESTRUCTION IS MY BIRTHRIGHT!” 

“You were never born! You were made. All because someone was scared and was to stupid to find a better solution!” 

And the debrid reigned upon them.

 

 

A voice echoing in the distance loud, but far. The girl feels as if this darkness had been home since the beginning.

“Kara...KARA.” She knew that voice. She heard it as the feeling of rock and pipe shifted around her.

J’onn…

“We are going to get you out of here. You hold on. We are going to bring you home the other agents are on there way down here.”

“...No. Don't let Alex over here. I don't want her to see me” a weak croak came from the fragile frame.

“You try and stop her from getting to you. You know there is nothing on any of the earths that will get in her way. Especially are the stun you pulled.” He said with a faint smile as he dug around her careful not to move too much at once.after a moment he believes he finds what Kara is trying to hide. A piece of rebar four inches thick impaling her from the ground up.

“J’onn I don't want her to see me. See me scared.” she whispered, a tear shattering the hero's mask.

“Oh Kara… No it's alright. We will do everything we can. I promise.” J’onn looks into her eyes into her mind and sees she has already accepted her fate. Doomed to float off into nothing where she had been all those years ago. It forces him to his knees beside her.

“I didn't know I would be this scared. It really is like Im back in that pod all over again. A scared little girl. Watching a world fall to pieces.” She let the tears run freely now, she was tired. So tired, the weight the pain, it's too much.

“Now you listen to me Kara Danvers.” J’onn jones voice boomed heavy with resolve, desperate to reach out and pull Kara back. “You are right here, and we are not going to let you go. Kara Danvers is going home. You did it, and you saved us. You saved everyone when no one could.”

“I love my family. You, everyone back at the DEO, I love this planet. I was ready, but now. I-I don't want to go. J’onn… I'm terrified.” her hand searching as her vision gone dark, isolated in this sinking feeling.

“No! Kara, I will not lose you. I will not lose another daughter, not in this life and not in this timeline, none of us is willing to let go.” Voice cracked and teeth ground as his firm grip wrapped around hers, “Your place is with us! Just hold on.” J’onn kept digging ignoring his hands as they bled on the cement, Kara’s blood covered more and they still had to recover Reign. He severed her from the piece of rebar and left it intact inside her. It seemed the only thing that tethered the girl of steel to her body was a bother piece of metal.

 

\---Deo---

Unfortunately the comms were still intact, and grim silence fell over the communication hub. Only broken by Winn choking back sobs, James with a glassed over look as they watched the extraction team secure Supergirl. Lena’s face was stone, frozen in time with only streams of tears to show that the seconds had passed. Alex could be heard manic over the speakers rushing to where her sister was. Screaming for the gurney and extraction team to hurry. 

A haze of disbelief, confusion, and heavy reality settled in everywhere. No one knew what to make of it all. Luckily there was protocol, if not Lena doesn't think anyone would not have moved a muscle. Orders came through once Sam was recovered from the debris in the subway station. Alive but still in surgery. Kara had been flat lining in increments holding on and letting go as her life danced across a heart monitor. 

 

36 hours later 

 

Lena wasn't sure what to think.

“Alex, I am not sure I'm the best person for this.”

“As annoying as it is you are the only person I trust not to fuck this up. You discovered the link between Reign and Sam, you were able to make synthetic Kryptonite, you understood the nature of Black Kryptonite in how it would integrate with Reigns biology and tweaked it to save Sam. You still want to sit on the fence fine, but just know that if you do, if you don't at least try, you let Kara die.”

Kara… Kara is

“Kara is dying Lena. And there is nothing I can do to save her. Not now, but you can.” Alex’s eye were red rimmed

“Alright, I'll do everything I can. She did.” Lena nodded somberly.

“I couldn't agree more.” Alex extended her hand to Lena’s shoulder with an assuring squeeze. The attention shifted to heels clicking down the hallway.

“Mom!” Alex exlaimed.

“Hey honeycomb.” Eliza greeted warmly, the same painful smile everyone seemed to wear.

“Its… Its not good mom. We have tried everything. I've tried everything but i just isn't enough. We don't know what to do.”

“We'll you have two of the most brilliant scientists invested in alien biology.” Eliza boasted.

“Eliza. I feel introductions are in order, but given the circumstance a bit inappropriate. Let's get to work. To the lab now?” Lena had already began walking.

“Lena, let's bring my daughter home.”

“Yes ma’am.”


	2. Birth and Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Just got back from New York after a solid chunk of time and getting back into writting. I promise to me more fequent with update now that I have a structured story line here. Still on mobile which is annoying and all mistakes are mine. Hope you enjoy this geek science stuff. Next time, Kara wakes up and we get some super corp agnst because those dramatic hoes are sloppy tragedies.

The murmuring agents marching back and forth securing the facility, was all white noise. The head faculty of the DEO’s main divisions deliberated on what to do to save humanity’s symbol of peace, the weight of uncertainty was heavy in the atmosphere.

“You want to what?!” Dr. Reiner exclaimed. Trying to make sense of the jumble of documents displayed on the projetor.

“We need to concentrate solar radiation to react to black kryptonite fragments on the cellular level. The way it reacted to her system it’s like cancer, her black kryptonite infused cells aren’t dying and the healthy cells within her body don’t have enough solar radiation to act as an immune system. It is what’s preventing her cells from regenerating. It isn't strong enough to reach her kryptonian cell membrane and take care of the problem.” Lena explained, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. 

They needed to act quickly if they were going to save Kara, she can remember pulling out the pieces of debris and cleaning up the hero. So much damage, raw flesh and lesions, not even a cry a whimper no sign of life. Just the slow beat from a monitor, it unsettled her somewhere deep. She was compartmentalizing. She only allowed herself to see the hero, the tattered cape, the soldier doing their duty. She couldn't imagine the innocent reporter. Clipboard and cardigans. Unwavering smiles and belief in her friends with the love of potstickers and sunny mornings. She couldn't bring herself to see Kara. How could she, she saw a patient, and she could do that for now. She was snapped out of her thought once Eliza picked up where she left off.

“ It's why her condition hasn’t really improved, despite our efforts. We need to charge those healthy cells with strong enough solar radiation to eradicate the residual black kryptonite that was left in her system. And the only way to do that right now, in time is to, well, create a sun.” Eliza explained to the science department. Dr. Reiner scratched at their face, trying to figure out the angle to pitch this to General Lane. 

“So you want to give her concentrated solar radiation chemo? How is that even possible?” 

“Nevermind the fact that she isn't healing her lacerations and broken bones without what is essentially Kryptonic cancer. How do you propose we create a Sun out of thin air, and what are we to do with it after?” ask J’onn.

“I know its lucrative, but sometimes, we just have to be mad scientists. Besides we just need to make a small one, it should be fine! In theory” Eliza replied coolly, giving Lena a reassuring smile.

“Lucrative indeed. I hope we have better plans for the future. If this is all we have to save Kara's life then we have no choice. I don't know about you all but I'm no fan of gambling and I would prefer to not have to resort to what I can only describe as a coin toss when it comes to the safety of this planet.” J’onn let out a deep sigh and walk across the room to stand in front of the two scientists. He looked at Eliza’s red rimmed eyes, and noted Lena’s dark circles. her hand shook a bit from all the caffeine but held his gaze. He let the commanders mask crack a bit and gave them both a nod and he clasped Eliza shoulder. “I'll make the proposal for paperwork and protocols sake but I'm leaving Kara's fate with you. Do what you have to, allocate whatever resources you need, we'll deal with the rest later.” J’onn ordered, making his way to the com hub to direct the team on there mission.

 

After the meeting in the lab Lena and Eliza made their way back to Kara’s room. As they approached they saw the defibrillator being rolled away and a haggard Alex giving the nurse instructions. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and a few tears that lingered on her face. Her eyes perks up once the two ‘mad scientists’ were in view.

“ How did the meeting go?” she breathed, removing her scrubs that were blood smeared and grabbed a fresh one from the cart outside of the room.

“ Oh you know, progressive approaches always come with a little push back but, since we've come up with the only theoretically viable plan, they’ve thrown up their hands and are letting us do what we need to do to get Kara on her road to recovery.” Eliza replied, taking Alex's had in her’s. “We've got a plan sweetheart. A crazy one, but we have a plan.”

“ Funny, that’s what Kara said before she went into that hell hole.” Alex solemnly spoke. Eliza taking her daughter's face in and gave her a firm hug while choking back her own tears.

“You've done everything you can honey. You love her and I bet anything that she is fighting to make sure she doesn't make you madder. She loves you so much. She won't leave us like this. This isn't your fault.”

“Why didn't she let me help her mom, why did she have to go off on her own? I would have done something!” Alex cried, gripping on to Eliza’s scrubs.

“Kara knew, she knew and I think we all anticipated the worst of this. It's why she went alone, she was tired of worry about who else would get caught up in that fight.” Lena voiced, blanching at the glare Alex was giving her. Lena cleared her voice. “ What I mean is that she knew that Reign would easily use any backup you brought to make it harder for her to fight, making her strain herself protecting anyone else in that tunnel. I also think she trusted, that whatever happened, you'd be able to help her.” Alex stared at Lena for a long moment, an unreadable expression on her face. She let out a deep sigh and fell out of Eliza's hug fixing up her lab coat to get started on preparing the room.

“Alright, time to get to work.”

 

“I'm going to go check on the lab and make sure everything is prepared before we start. I'll be waiting for you there Eliza. Alex we will see there as well?” Lena asked.

“There is no way I'm leaving her alone again.”

 

The process of creating this artificial sun was not nearly as difficult as creating kryptonite. Lena had used one of Lex old blueprints for a device he had designed when he ran LexCorp. The concept was to overload Superman’s cell with solar radiation and destroy him from the inside. Lex almost giggled as he thought he would bare witness to Superman pop like a kernel in a microwave. Much to his dismay, he only supercharged his abilities briefly and amplified his laservision to where he blew a hole in a US Navy ship 50 miles off the national city coastline.

The question was how would they implement their artificial sun. They couldn't shoot her with it, they may miss some fragments. They couldn't put a sun in a syringe. That was just stupid. What to do when all of this is experimental?

“I wish we could just use a volcano or something and dip her in like a cookie” replied Winn as he ate his oreos. 

“Seriously Winn, where did you even get those.” James chastised.

“I stress eat. They remind me of Kara...” Winn sniffed, tears threatening to flow as he dunked another cookie. James patted him on the back, only to get milk splashed on his shirt as Winn sobbed into his chest. James would have laugh any other time, here however he just held his friend. This weigh heavily on everyone.

“Actually...He may be onto something. If we could change the state of this artificial energy between gas, liquid, solid. The best one would be…” Eliza pondered.

“Plasma. We can’t change an artificial sun into a liquid. But Plasma can offer malleability while still maintaining the concentration of solar radiation Kara needs.” Lena responded with a knowing smile as her mind continued whirring. “Let's get Supergirl ready for her bath bomb”.

“Luther coming in with the puns? My hero.” Alex sighed. Looking at James and Winn smirking on the desks.

“We're doing this? We're making a sun and changing the already unstable components in order to fit an artificial sun into a kiddy pool and dunking Kara in like hot fudge on an ice cream cone?” Winn replied with the quirk of an eyebrow and oreo smudged on his chin.

“Mad science at its finest here at the DEO honey. They did bring us to handle this.” Eliza smirked.

“Alright, if we're done here can we go save Kara? Now.” Alex declared, unscathed by the antics and with her mission in mind. Kara still needed to come home.

 

It was no easy feat. With minimal error the vat was prepared and now the moment was at hand. Kara, bruised and cut, laid upon a metal table as if she was already on ice. Making light of the situation to calm the nerves was off the table at the site of her. She was relatively stable. She hadn't gone into cardiac arrest a third time. ‘Three fucking times’ Alex thought. It needed to work. It was finally time to take the plunge.

Lena and Eliza used mechanical arms, and polarized goggles, infused with the strongest known metals within the 3 nearest galaxies. In a sterilized room underground, they handled the volatile chemicals. Some extracted from the more violent aliens they had captured. Sweating Lena introduced the catalyst to set of the chain reaction to hopefully create their artificial sun. 

It started of with a small ring.

A ring in her ears as she look at the small sphere, as it began to expand and expand. It looked like life. And it was evolving.

They could not contain it. She could only barely hear Eliza yelling and pointing. Lena got her faculties together trying to run towards the magnet lever, but the small star was already creating its own gravity and Lena felt heavier and heavier with each step as she tried to make it over. Once she crawled to it she tried to force down the lever to turn on the 4 ton magnets they had to keep the star suspended. She tried and tried but it wouldn't budge. She felt a body behind her as J’onn tried to force it down with all of his strength as the star rampaged behind the glass, flaring in violent beautiful rings that threatened to kill them. It budged but it didn't go down all the way. 

Stomp, stomp, they felt the floor vibrating. J’onn turned around to see Alex in a power suit placing her arms in front with a pull that made the metal joints hiss. They put all of their weight down and with a final roar, Finally the lever came down as it broke off. Lena and J’onn falling to the ground. Alex still stuck as the joints broke under the star's gravity.

“Did we do it?” Lena asked pulling herself up from the ground appreciating the literal weight lifting off of her body.

“Well we aren't dead. I'll take it as a good sign.” Exhaled J’onn as he struggled to get a firm foot on the ground.

“Look.” Eliza whisper with awe in her voice as the gazed upon life itself. Glowing White with swirls of orange and red. 

They created a Star.


	3. Praise the Sun?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This will probably be the last space science chapter since its a bit out of my depth but here ya go. Angst ahead. But Kara and Lena talk!

General Lane gazed upon the marvel, what the DEO had created, a quiet fear of what this department was capable of doing. Behind 12 inches of reinforced glass suspended in the air with the power of the magnets, a hum could be heard from anywhere in the room. The man made sun existed in its own orbit, its gravity generating an unmistakable pressure when you stood within 50 feet of it. How this would help Supergirl was beyond her, she was no scientist but the lack of knowledge about this plan more than unnerved her. Here 15 miles below the surface, without consulting anyone, the Director of the DEO had approved this without consulting anyone.

“I am amazed. At how you even thought this would be approved by anyone without extensive paperwork and peer reviews” stated the general with a furrow in her brow.

“We weren’t sure how it would work but we have some of the most brilliant minds the earth has to offer. No one else could have pulled this off. I made a judgement call” J’onn nodded, shifting a bit from the tension in his shoulders.

“I don’t disagree. Most people wait, after they’ve gone through the correct channels, follow protocol before starting the radioactive science project though. You needed to do it correctly.” General Lane had her mouth pressed into a thin line, with a glare that made it difficult for J’onn to lift his head.

With a pause, she looked at the director, his eyes were a bit sunken, shirt was half tucked several cup of coffee in the three trash bins they had to bring down to the coffee maker. It’s how everyone looked when she made her way down to the lower level. She changed her posture and waited for J’onn to lift his head.

“This was the only answer we had.” J’onn stated with no hesitation.

“To what question Director?” General Lanes eyes trained on the mass of energy.

“What are we willing to do, to keep hope from dying?” J’onn stood unwavering.

“How is she really Director?” She asked solemnly. J’onn steeled his eyes, and let his shoulders drop with a deep breath. He looked through the screen to the lab where Lena and Eliza were straping Kara down to a slab of Nth metal for the next phase of the plan. Winn working on the container, a 24 in thick pod lined with Nth metal to keep the experimental plasma from the artificial sun they created, if they could manage to change the physical properties without causing a small black hole underground. Kara’s body laid still, unhealing and unmoving. Only the shallow breaths and slight movement of her chest indicated life.

“We don’t know how this will work, we just know that if we do nothing she’s gone. Stuck in a body that won’t let her heal, won’t let her wake. Her brain is reactive but she’s in so much pain. We didn’t know what to do and this is the best we have. She’s getting prepped right now, but I have no idea if this will help her or make things worse.” J’onn replied wiping at his face. He looked into her mind but once before moving her below the surface, and all he heard was sobbing and screams. He had been taking migraine pills afterward, but the ache was persistent.

“I’ll do everything in my power to keep this here, behind closed doors.” J’onn gave her a surprised look “I am the one supervising and as the liaison between you and our government, I know that the higher up would shut down this program the second the realized what you’ve done. I’m gonna have to bite the bullet here. Just make sure we don’t blow up the planet, though without Supergirl I’m not sure how long it would be until it happened anyway.” General Lane chuckled humorlessly, after excusing herself she made her way to the elevator giving Alex a nod and headed back up to the main building hoping that she wasn’t making a mistake and most of all that the Symbol of peace would survive this.

 

Eliza and Lena revised their algorithms, repeatedly checked their margins, quickly and mechanically worked through the change of state. They were quickly approaching uncharted territory, where theories were being created for the first time and executed with no margins for error. They were trying to have lightning strike twice in the same place. Lena reviewed the dimensions of the container where they would change the semi gaseous star into plasma, and unceremoniously dump Kara’s body into it hoping to kickstart her immune system into absorbing direct solar radiation. In theory it should be a quick dip and the nanotrites she was injected with beforehand will signal if the black kryptonite infused cell within her body go through apoptosis. Nevermind that there’s no way to test the procedure but her cells reacted somewhat to the sun lamps, they just weren’t strong enough to trigger the immune response they needed. Direct radiation in a consistent and concentrated delivery method, hopefully it would be enough.

Eliza had paused for a moment, running her fingers through Kara’s hair, placing a soft kiss on her temples, whispering a silent prayer in a language Lena couldn't recognize. “When Kara first came to Earth, her English was a bit passed rusty. A lot of charades. One thing she always did though, she had this prayer. She translated it for me and we recited it together before she went to bed.” Eliza’s eyes glassed over, and with a quiver of her lip continued. “I thank Rao for the light he left, in his love, and within me. With this light I fight the darkness, darkness within me and around me. Strong on our own, and strongest together. We live, within the ray of the Sun.” Tears fall freely, and Eliza gathers herself before Lena, “It seems silly to pray, I was never one for religion, but Kara made me believe it. I don’t know if Rao hears the prayers from aliens in other galaxies but I know someone had to have been hearing her. Sorry, we should finish up here.” She gathers the remaining documents and head to other lab where the monitors had been set up to observe the procedure.

 

The silent hum of the machine as the placed the vat in the ground was al that could be heard, as win programmed and typed away the instructions, the magnets had been changed in polarity to lower the star in the nth metal capsule. Once contained a control detonated nuclear bomb, a small one, but one to help catalyze the change of state process was crafted and ready to be introduced into the vat. Eliza is convinced that chaos in moderation is key but Lena is not convinced in the slightest.

“You know, I have been ill advised to push big red buttons.” Lena stated grimly.

“Well we can always just go back upstairs and call it quits and let the world go to shit in the comfort of a bunker.” Alex replied nonchalantly. With a deep breath the set off the catalyst. 

It was contained, somewhat. The steel shot off in all directions when the star and blast implosed and rapidly expanded, but the magnets did their job held the solution of bright glowing yellow plasma suspended. It was as bright as the sun itself and moved as if with sentience. Lena and Alex stood in awe, then raced to Eliza who was manning the rigs. Working quickly they manufactured a mold of Nth metal to move to the second part of the procedure. Kara.

 

The first thing Kara felt was sadness. The pain had washed away and the feeling laid on top of her weighing her down. She tried to wake but couldn’t find the energy to do so, Kara just breathed in slow deep breaths, relishing in the absence of copper and the pain, the still present was muted now. The happiness she felt was insurmountable. The cold from that cellar was replaced with warm blankets, and a sense of peace that rivaled any other.

Kara’s eyes hadn’t opened but a tear slipped, unable to hold back the feeling of hopelessness and sorrow. It shocked her, just a moment ago she was overjoyed. She didn’t feel that hopelessness but it came from somewhere else, away from herself. She heard a quiet whisper and after a pause, few more like prayers you recite to yourself to let sleep come with ease. Kara felt the heaviness in her body lift gradually and let the prayers lull her to sleep, a firm grip on her hand a welcome pressure letting her know she was not alone in the darkness. She tightened her grip only slightly, but it was enough to hear a short gasp, and that heavy feeling evaporated in an instant, the light she felt inside glowing with her own sense of hope igniting, shining ten fold.

 

The second time she awakes her eye slowly opens, the other covered by thick bandages. She quickly shuts it at the fluorescent light beaming above her. Her throat is dry, but she doesn’t feel weighed down by her own body, though she doesn’t feel like her old self, she feels like more, or at least she just, feels, more. A small groan escapes her as she tries to move, everything protesting against her, a small headache but all welcomed in her opinion. She felt so close to the sun, to Rao. This was the first time, in all her life since she came to Earth. She was certain she wouldn’t make it back home. 

 

Lena doesn’t move, it is three in the morning and she volunteered to stay and look over Kara, changing her bandages and IV drip. Almost a week after Alex felt Kara tighten her grip was a small victory, but that was all. Her powers were still blown and her wounds were healing at the rate of a normal human clinging to life. She didn’t expect, or wanted to be the person Kara first saw when she finally came too. Lena, happy the hero was conscious prayed to every god that she knew of that Kara would fall back asleep. Proof to her lack of faith in deities off planet or not, it seemed the Gods didn’t favor the faithless as she looked into bright and confused blue eyes, a bit glazed over from the medicine but open. 

“Lena, you're here?” Kara’s croaked, the dryness still present in her throat, she tried to reach with her right hand at the jug of water placed beside the bed but saw a giant casted club. With a frown she checked her left and found that her hand was bandaged as well, not in a cask and was trying to reach over when she felt her side and hissed in pain.

“Stop moving Kara, your healing, but very slowly. You are going to have to do this the same as the rest of us. By asking with a please and thank you” Lena smirked, still uneasy. Trying to sort through her own feelings, hurt, happiness, uncertainty. 

“I’m sorry Lena. If I didn’t… If Sam. I promise… I-I tried. I swear.” Kara stammered, as the memories of her fight came back to her, clutching at her side. Somehow reading the emotions Lena couldn’t label. Kara assumed she had failed. Lena’s eyes widened, turning her back to Kara collecting her thoughts while she got a glass of water for the wounded hero. She cleared her throat, putting her mask in place to get through the conversation.

“I hesitate to call your stunt a success, considering the state you’re in, your sister would agree.” Kara winced at her words, knowing that the second she saw Alex would be an earful and a lot of yelling. “You did save her. You saved Sam, and by proxy, you saved all of us.” Lena declared with a small smile. Kara looked at Lena, and couldn’t help the tears that demanded to fall. She raised her cast over her eyes as the quiet sobs racked her fragile frame. Lena stood awkwardly to the side, as she jotted down the information she needed from the monitors.

“Everyone is okay?” she muffled through her cast.

“Besides you, hmm. Now that you are ok, I think everyone is going to be just fine. No one else was hurt in the confrontation, or did you forget you insane, halfcocked plan to go off yourself?” Lena asked with a quirk of her brow, and a frown firmly in place. Not wanting to be around when Alex decides to reprimand Kara.

“Look at me Lena, I am supposed to be invulnerable and I look like a mummy.” She sighed, taking a moment to scan through her body unable to use her x-ray vision. “I just didn’t want anyone else to die, because I couldn’t fulfill my purpose. What happened to me anyway?”

Lena grabbed her heavy medical chart, sitting on the table in Kara’s room cleared for observation after the experiment. Much like a hospital in the sense that everything was stale and stifling. Save for the long table resting against the wall decorated with flowers, lots of flowers, and cards because ‘Kara is recovering she’s not in a hospice. So stop making it look like someone died in here and get some fucking tulips’, Alex had a way about her. Looking over the 30 pages of documents cataloguing all of Kara’s injuries “Well the list is quite extensive, you look exactly how you feel I would imagine. Your sister will go over everything with you since she will be taking on a lot of your care, depending on how long it’ll take your powers to return, Eliza wants to go over everything in detail. Personally, the thing I’m most concerned about is your eye.” Kara passed her bandaged left hand over the area, leaning back feeling the strain on her body.

“I’ve been looking through the medical notes on both you and superman after battles where severe organ damage had occurred, and in every instance you had at least some of the organ to regenerate base tissues from. Kara, your eye isn’t cut or hemorrhaged, it isn’t there.” Lena started, helping Kara adjust her pillows thoughtlessly, with a furrow in her brow, deepening as she sees Kara surprisingly smirking at the news.

“I’m gonna look like a supervillain. Or like a weird caped pirate” Kara chuckles still clutching her side. Her body starts to ache and she hisses as she fully rests back against the pillows failing to adjust them. Lena lets out an unamused sigh as she tucks Kara’s blanket, her face close to Kara’s seeing how blue her eye is and notices how it squints in pain as she adjusts the bed. She gives Kara a light sedative and administers a touch of morphine to help with the pain.

“I can only imagine how angry you are with me, for everything now, and before.” Kara muttered solemnly as the sedative seeped into her.

“No you can't. You really can't. We would have done anything to help you. I would have done everything for you, but you couldn't trust me enough to do that. You didn't trust me at all.” Lena shook, angry at herself for choking at the finish line. She was so close to keeping everything together.

“It wasn't my lack of trust Lena, I was just afraid. I was so afraid. Even up until the end. I let that fear hurt you and I don't think I'll ever not be sorry for that.” Kara tried reaching for her but her bones protested too much.

“Kara. My Kara, my friend almost died. All because she was afraid of me? Of what a Luthor could do? What was it then, even when you were Supergirl. God how many times did I talk to Supergirl about you and I was so stupid.” Lena was crying openly now, she felt like she was throwing a tantrum. She could already here her mother screaming for her to keep quiet. Kara started crying to, half conscious due to the drugs in her system clinging to this moment because if she didn't say anything now she may not have the courage to do so later.

“No. No you aren't. No one else except you could have saved me, the only Kryptonian to ever have space cancer on Earth. You are the smartest person. The best person. And I was afraid I would lose you forever once you knew. Then everything happened, and now I'm still here. I have a life I have to put together, because if my powers don't come back, I'll just be Kara Danvers, and Kara Danvers wouldn't be here today without you.”


End file.
